Control apparatus for dental chair



Nov. 10, 1964 FQRRESTER, JR 3,156,134

CONTROL APPARATUS FOR DENTAL CHAIR Filed July 25, 1961 INVENTOR. TOM FORRESTER JR.

United States Patent 3,156,134 CONTROL APPARATUS FOR DENTAL CHAIR Tom Forrester, Jr., Hilton, N.Y., assignor to Ritter Company, Inc., Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 25, 1961, Ser. No. 126,649 6 Claims. (Cl. 74-471) This invention relates to hand control apparatus and more particularly to a single manual controlled lever for controlling a plurality of functions of medical equipment. In the dental and medical equipment field, as is true of many other fields, substantially universal adjustment of apparatus is sought, including electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic adjustments.

During the evolution of various equipment in the medical and dental fields, including apparatus for accomplishing the desired substantially universal adjustment, controls have been devised whereby separate manual controls have been provided for each of the various adjustments. This has been acomplished by a plurality of either foot or hand operated control levers.

I have invented control apparatus having only a single lever for manual control of a plurality of pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical or other control apparatus thereby accomplishing the desired universal adjustment of equipment by a single lever.

It is a significant object of my invention to provide a single source for controlling substantially universal adjustment of power operated apparatus.

It is a further significant object of my invention to provide a single manual controllable lever adapted for controlling a plurality of power sources.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved and simplified apparatus for controlling power controlled apparatus.

A further object of my invention is to provide a single manual control of the nature described above which is simple, positive and efiicient in operation and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be particularly set forth in the claims and will be apparent from the following description of one embodiment of my invention taken in connection with the acompanying drawmgs.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of my invention taken along the line 1-1 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 2 is a top planar view of the embodiment of my invention illustrated in FIG. 1 with the control lever shown in section; and

FIG. 3 is a bottom planar elevation of the embodiment of my invention illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, I have illustrated a control box comprising a bottom and a mating top 12 secured thereto by suitable means such as by screws or pins 14.

On the exterior surface of the bottom 10 I have provided a hangar or clip 16 attached thereto as for example by rivets 18. Clip 16 is adapted for mating with a bracket attached to the dental or medical equipment or other apparatus which my invention is adapted to control or attached to any convenient object. It therefore will be understood that my invention is removably mountable with respect to the equipment with which it is to be used, the wall adjacent the equipment with which it is to be used, or any other object convenient to the equipment being controlled.

A support member 20 is rigidly secured to the bottom 10 by means of a plurality of spaced screws 22. In the illustrated embodiment, I provide a ball joint comprising a female part 24 and a male part 26. Male part 26 is pivotal in female part 24 and female part 24 is rigidly mounted within an opening 28 in the center of support member 20.

Male part 26 is integral with a control lever 30 having a knob 32 threaded onto the opposite end thereof.

It will be understood that my invention contemplates any substantially universally pivotal connection between the lever 30 and the bottom 10 of the control box. Therefore, any other type of pivotal connection could be provided in lieu of the ball joint illustrated by the parts 24 and 26.

A plurality of switches 34 rigidly connected to sup port member 20 in spaced relation surround the lever 30. Each of the control switches 34 is mounted on a spacer 35 in turn rigidly mounted on support member 20 by bolts 33 extending through the switch 34, spacer 36 and member 20. Although in this particular case, switches 34 are control switches, each having two electrical contact points 35, it will be understood that these control switches could, within the contemplation of my invention, be supplanted by pneumatic, solenoid or other type of valves.

1 have provided a circular contact disc 38 rigidly connected through its center to lever 30 by, for example, a weld 46. Contact disc 33 is spaced from each of the control nipples 42 of switches 34, when the lever is to the neutral vertically disposed position illustrated in FIG. 1.

Illustrated at 44 is a resilient collar of rubber or other plastic material or conceivably a spring. Resilient collar 44 engages contact disc 38 in opposition to any pivotal movement of the lever 3t and is positioned intermediate the lever 33 and the plurality of switches 34, thereby providing an arrangement for maintaining disc 33 in the neutral position illustrated in FIG. 1 except when pressure is applied to the knob 32.

Top 12 of the control box has an opening 46, the configuration of which is illustrated in FIG. 2. For this particular embodiment I have illustrated a substantially crossshaped opening 46 permitting movement of the lever 30 in any one of four directions from the neutral position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, thereby actuating selectively, one of the four switches 34 when disc 38 is brought into contact with the nipple of the selected switch.

Although I have, in the drawings, illustrated four switches controlling four functions of apparatus (not illustrated), it will be understood that with minor modifications in the arrangement and selection of parts, the number of control switches could be varied; the configuration of the opening 46 would merely be modified to correspond to the number and positions of control switches 34 Thus, I have provided a very simple single control mechanism whereby a plurality of switches, valves or other control apparatus may selectively be controlled.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of mechanism of my invention, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made therein, particularly in the form and relation of parts, without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Control apparatus comprising, in combination, a removably mountable control box, a plurality of control means mounted within and on the bottom of said box and spaced from each other, a shaft having a neutral position and being mounted for substantially universal movement about a pivot point on an axis centrally located with respect to said plurality of control means, said axis being substantially equally radially spaced from each of said control means, a contact disc mounted on said shaft, and resilient means between said contact disc and box normally maintaining said shaft in said neutral position and permitting said disc to actuate at least one of said control means only when a selected force is applied to saidshaft.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a top to said box having slots radially extending from the neutral position vof said shaft to selected positions permitting said shaft to engage at least one of said control means 7 in each selected position.

3. Control apparatus comprising, in combination, a removably mountable control box, a plurality of control means mounted in said box and spaced from each other on the bottom of said box, a shaft pivotally mounted in said box for substantial universal movement at a position substantially equally radially spaced from each of said control means, said shaft having a neutral position in which the longitudinal axis of said shaft is substantially perpendicular to said plane, a contact disc mounted on said shaft and spaced from said control means when said shaft is in its neutral position, resilient means intermediate said disc and said control box bottom normally maintaining said shaft in said neutral position and permitting said disc to actuate at least one of said control means when pressure is applied to said shaft in opposition to said resilient means.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which said resilient means comprises a plastic ring intermediate said disc and said control box and surrounding said shaft.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which said resilient means comprises a resilient ring intermediate said disc and pivotal mounting of said shaft in said box.

6. Control apparatus comprising in combination: a

'removably mountable control box; a plurality of control means mounted on the bottom of said box being horizontally spaced from each other; a shaft having a neutral position and being mounted in said box for substantially universal movement about a pivot point on a vertical axis between said control means; substantially horizontally extending means carried on said shaft for actuating one or more of said control means; and resilient means between said horizontally extending means and said box for normally maintaining said shaft in said neutral position and yieldingly permitting said horizontally extending means to actuate at least one of said control means only when a selected force is applied to said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNiTED STATES PATENTS 627,671 Kelly June 27, 1899 1,660,278 Schwarze Feb. 21, 1928 1,764,005 Cochin June 17, 1930 1,787,734 Rowling Jan. 6, 1931 1,874,557 Lord Aug. 30, 1932 2,366,883 Tydon Jan. 9, 1945 2,388,327 Jacobsson et al Nov. 6, 1945 2,430,808 Eaton Nov. 11, 1947 2,561,556 Bell July 24, 1951 2,574,624 Cochin Nov. 13, 1951 2,848,988 Binder Aug. 26, 1958 2,849,548 Young Aug. 26, 1958 2,958,233 Johnson Nov. 1, 1960 

1. CONTROL APPARATUS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A REMOVABLY MOUNTABLE CONTROL BOX, A PLURALITY OF CONTROL MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN AND ON THE BOTTOM OF SAID BOX AND SPACED FROM EACH OTHER, A SHAFT HAVING A NEUTRAL POSITION AND BEING MOUNTED FOR SUBSTANTIALLY UNIVERSAL MOVEMENT ABOUT A PIVOT POINT ON AN AXIS CENTRALLY LOCATED WITH RESPECT TO SAID PLURALITY OF CONTROL MEANS, SAID AXIS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUALLY RADIALLY SPACED FROM EACH OF SAID CONTROL MEANS, A CONTACT DISC MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT, AND RESILIENT MEANS BETWEEN SAID CONTACT DISC AND BOX NORMALLY MAINTAINING SAID SHAFT IN SAID NEUTRAL POSITION AND PERMITTING SAID DISC TO ACTUATE AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CONTROL MEANS ONLY WHEN A SELECTED FORCE IS APPLIED TO SAID SHAFT. 